Suspension hydraulic swivel and feed for rotary well drilling



Nov. 23, 1937. G. R. TREMOLADA 2,099,779 SUSPENSION HYDRAULIC SWIVEL AND FEED FOR ROTARY WELL DRILLING Filed May 22, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet l I N V EN TOR. zygiebno R. Tremoladw,

A TTORNEY.

Nov. 23, 1937' G; R.'TREMOLADA 2,099,779

SUSPENSION HYDRAULIC SWIVEL AND FEED FOR ROTARY WELL DRILLING Filed May 22, 1936 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTORNEY.

NOV. 23, 1937. TREMOLADA 2,099,779

SUSPENSION HYDRAULIC SWIVEL AND FEED FOR ROTARY WELL DRILLING 7 Filed May 22, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 I 7 J6 J7 H 16! 7 r J5 '34- 13 33 N 8 J. 1 I 7 INVENTOR: Gzylzklzno ZZ. Tremoladm,

Patented Nov. 23, 1937 PATENT OFFICE SUSPENSION HYDRAULIC SWIVEL AND FOR ROTARY WELL DRILLING Guglielmo It. Tremolada, Los Angelce, Calif.

REISSUED DEC 2 4 1940 Application May 22, 1936, Serial No. 81,167

3 Claims.

This invention relates to swivels, feeds and retraction means for rotary well-drilling apparatus.

In the operation of rotary well-drilling apparatus the great weight of the drill string on the con- 5 ventional metallic thrust bearing swivel wears out said swivel in a short time, often within twenty-four hours. Such swivels are expensive, and their frequent failure adds materially to the cost of drilling operations. In feeding the drill bit in deep wells the great weight of the drill string, amounting at times to several hundred tons, must be relieved from the bit and the bit controlled in such manner that it will engage the bottom of the well under no greater pressure than the weight necessary for drilling; otherwise the bit will deviate from the perpendicular, by following a soft formation, and will drill a crooked hole, or the bit will dig into the earth too rapidly and twist off the drill string.

Various means are at present employed, in conjunction with the conventional metallic thrust bearing swivel, for maintaining the proper pressure on the drill bit, such as the electric diiferential motor lift, the hydrauliclift and other means.

Such means, however, are all extra equipment, added to the conventional drilling apparatus, which are cumbersome and expensive, and are employed only for the control of the weight on the drill string.

The general object of my'invention is to provide a combined hydraulic cushion suspension swivel and feed for rotary well-drilling apparatus.

Another object is to provide a hydraulic swivel for rotary well drilling apparatus, whereby the entire weight of the drill string is suspended and revolved upon a body of liquid, thus eliminating the great wear and frequent replacement of the conventional metallic thrust bearing swivel, and increasing the life of the swivel indefinitely.

Another object is to provide an improved hydraulic feed for rotary well drilling apparatus, which will feed the drill bit smoothly and will enable accurate measurement of the pressure or weight of the drill bit in order to prevent the application of excessiverpressure on the bit.

Another object is to provide a feed for rotary well-drilling apparatus, the stroke of which may 'be increased to the length of the kelly, thus elimmating the frequent retracting operations required in the present rotary well-drilling apparatus.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter as this specification progresses.

In the annexed drawings bearing swivel.

Fig. 6 is an elevation of my invention with the mud joint disconnected therefrom, and showing a snubbing hook screw seated on the lower end 15 ofv the piston rod and engaging the cable of a snubbing means for snubbing the drill string into a well hole.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of my invention, showing the piston and 20 slide in their uppermost position in the cylinder.

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section .of my invention taken on line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary elevation of my invention showing a modified form of suspension 25 means.

Referring more particularly to the drawings. in which corresponding parts are designated by thesame reference characters in all the figures, I designates my hydraulic swivel and feed in its entirety, which is suspended at its upper end by a ball 2 from the hook 3 of a traveling block 4 in a derrick 5, said traveling block being suspended by a cable 6 from a crown block (not shown) on the top of said derrick.

My invention includes a cylinder 1, piston 8, and piston rod 9, and slidable guide l0, said guide 1 being positioned in said cylinder above said piston.- The cylinder I is iormed with a cooling jacket ll, surrounding the same, in which jacket 40 is placed water, air, or other cooling medium for preventing overheating of said cylinder. The cylinder l is constructed with a head l2 at its upper end, "which head is formed with a pair of horizontal trunnions l3, received within the bearing M, at the lower ends of the bail.2. Said head is provided with a central bore I5 through its upper wall to provide access into the upper end of the cylinder 1, said bore being normally closed at its upper end by a plug it formed with an external flange 56', which rests upon the top of the head I! and is bolted to the head by bolts ll, whereby the bore I4 is detachably closed by said plug. The lower end of the cylinder 1 is closed by a head l8, which is bolted thereto by r bolts l9, said head being constructed with a packing box 20, and a roller bearing 20 through which the piston rod 9 extends. The piston 8 is keyed on the piston rod 9, with its upper end against an enlargement 2| on said rod, and said piston is constructed with a peripheral recess 22, extending upwardly from the lower end thereof, to receive a hydraulic packing 23, which is maintained in said recess by a gland 24, secured in the lower end of said piston, said packing engaging the inner surface of the cylinder 1 to seal the liquid in the cylinder below said piston. The lower side 24' of the piston gland 24 is preferably spherical to provide a better hydraulic cushion efiect of the piston 8, and reduce the eddy currents in the liquid in the cylinder and the heat generated thereby to a minimum. The slidable guide In is constructed with annular rings 25 and 26 and with a bearing housing 21 within said rings, the ring 25 being spaced above the ring 26, and said rings being joined to said bearing housing by radial longitudinal webs 28. The rings 25 and 26 of the sliding guide ID are slidably fitted to the inner surface of the cylinder 1. The upper end portion of the piston rod 9 extends upwardly through the bearing housing 21 and is journaled in roller bearings 29 and 30 fitted in the lower and upper ends respectively of said housing. A bearing spacer 3| is fitted on the piston rod 9 within the bearing housing 21 with its upper end engaging the lower end of the roller bearing 29 and its lower end engaging the upper end of the lower roller bearing 30. The upper end of the roller bearing 29 is closed by a thrust washer 32 fitted over the upper end of the piston rod 9 and a sleeve 33 is fitted over the upper end of said rod and rests at its lower end on the upper side of said washer 32. A gland 34 is secured in the upper end of the bearing housing 21 over the washer 32 with the sleeve 33 projecting through the opening 35 in the center of said gland, said gland being constructed with a packing 35 in contact with said sleeve 33 whereby the upper end of the roller bearing is hydraulically sealed. A washer 31 fits over the upper threaded end of the piston rod 9 upon the upper end of the sleeve 33 and a nut 38 screws on said upper threaded end of said piston rod against said washer 31, thus holding the gland 34 in position in the upper end of the bearing housing 21. The lower end of the roller bearing 30 is closed by a. washer 39 fitted over the upper end portion of the piston rod 9 upon the upper end of the enlargement 2|. A gland 40 is secured inthe lower end of the bearing housing 21 beneath the washer 39 and rests upon the enlargement 2| with the upper reduced portion 4| of said enlargement projecting upwardly through the opening in said gland, said gland being constructed with a packing 42 in contact with said reduced portion of said enlargement, whereby the lower end of the roller bearing 30 is hydraulically sealed. A nipple 43 projects through the lower end of the cylinder I and is connected the upper end of a flexible hose 44, the lower end of which hose being connected to one end of a pipe 45 located at one side of the derrick 5, which pipe extends downwardly from said hose to the lower part of the derrick where it is bent at 45 upon itself and extends upwardly into the bottom of a fluid tank 41 mounted on the upper part of the derrick 5. In said pipe 45 near the floor of the derrick is provided a valve 48 for controlling the fluid, preferably soluble oil, supplied to the cylinder 1 through said pipe from the tank 41,

. lower end of the roller bearing 51.

for raising or lowering the piston 8 in said cylinder. A U-shaped pipe 49 is connect-ed at its ends to the pipe 45 at opposite sides respectively of the valve 48, to which pipe 49 is connected at pressure indicator 50. interposed in the pipe 69. From the cylinder 1, at a point immediately above the piston 8, when said piston is at the upper end of its stroke, leads a drain pipe 52 for leakage upwardly past said piston.

A mud joint 53 is provided for the circulation of mud downwardly through the drill string, around the drill bit, and upwardly through the well in the usual manner. Said mud joint comprises a casing 54, a spindle 55 extending through said casing, and roller bearings 56 and 51 mounted respectively in the lower end and upper end of said casing, on which bearings said spindle is journaled to rotate in said casing. The rollers 58 and 59, respectively, of the bearings 56 and 51, are conical and are disposed at an angle to support the casing 54 on the spindle 55. The lower end of the casing 54 is closed by a gland 60 surrounding the spindle 55 and constructed with a packing 6| in contact with said spindle,

which packing seals the lower end of the roller bearing 55 around the spindle. A ring 62 is secured on the spindle 55 above the roller bearing 56 and is constructed with a peripheral packing 62' in contact with the inner surface of the casing 54, which packing seals the upper'end of the roller bearing 55. The upper end of the casing 54 is closed by a gland 53 surrounding the upper end of the spindle 55 and constructed with a packing 64 in contact with the spindle, which packing seals the upper end of the roller bearing 51 around the spindle. A ring 55 is fitted on the upper portion f the spindle 55 immediately below the roller bearing 51, and is constructed with a peripheral packing 65 in contact with the inner surface of the casing 54, which packing seals the The bore of the casing 54 is enlarged slightly above the lower roller bearing 56 to receive a packing 61 and a gland 68 to maintain said packing in said enlarged bore around the spindle 55. The bore of the casing 54 is also enlarged slightly below the upper roller bearing 51 to receive a packing 69 and a gland 10 to maintain said packing in said enlarged bore around said spindle. The casing 54 is enlarged internally intermediate its ends to provide an annular mud-circulating space 1| surrounding the spindle 55, and-said casing is provided with mud inlets 12 and 13 leading into said space from opposite sides of the casing 54. Nipples 14 and 15 are secured to the outside of the casing 54 in communication with said inlets respectively. The spindle 55 is provided with a bore 16 extending upwardly in the spindle from its lower endto a point 11 coinciding with the upper end of annular mud-circulating space 1| in the casing 54. The spindle 55 is provided with a plurality of elongated mud inlets 18 leading from the space 1| into the upper end of the spindle bore 16. The upper end of the spindle 55 is formed with a box 19 to receive a pin 80 on the lower end of the piston rod 9, whereby the mud joint 53 is detachably connected to the lower end of said piston rod. The lower end of the spindle 55 is formed with a pin 8| for engaging a box 82 in the upper end of the kelly 83 of a conventional rotary drill string for detachably connecting the upper end of said kelly to the lower end of said spindle, said kelly extending downwardly through the turntable 84 on A bleeding valve 5| is the floor of the derrick 5. A hose leading from a mud pump (not shown) is connected to either nipple I4 or I5 for circulating mud through the.

joint 53 and drill string to the bit in the well.

The operation, uses and advantages of my invention are as follows:

The cylinder 1, together with the mud joint 53, kelly 83 and drill string are raised by the draw works, until only the lower end of the kelly remains in the turntable 84 and the piston 8 rests upon a liquid cushion in the lower end of said cylinder below the drain 42, and the lower end of the kelly is secured in the turntable by slips. The cylinder I is then lowered by the draw works until the piston 8 reaches its uppermost position in said cylinder; while the valve 48 is opened so that liquid flows from the tank 41 through the pipe 45 and said valve, and through the hose 44, into the lower end oi the cylinder I until said cylinder is filled with liquid below the piston 8. The valve 48 is then closed, the slips are removed from the turntable and kelly and the bleed valve 5| is opened sufliciently to allow only a small amount of liquid to pass through it under a predetermined pressure of the piston 8 on the liquid in the cylinder, corresponding to the pressure of thedrill against the bottom of the well required for drilling. The liquid passing through the bleed valve 5| passes up through the pipe 45 into the tank 41 on the upper part of the derrick 5. The piston 8 then descends, under the influence of the weight of the drill string against the head of the liquid in the cylinder, functioning as a hy-- draulic feed, while the turntable 84 is rotated in the usual manner, whereby the kelly 83 and drill string, together with the mudjoint spindle 55, piston rod 8 and piston 8, are rotated, the piston rotating upon the liquid in the cylinder I functioning as a hydraulic swivel, and the drill bit drills the well hole to a depth equal to the length of the stroke of the piston 8'in the cylinder 1, whereupon the piston 8, upon reaching the lower end of its stroke, automatically closes the outlet nipple 43, and rests upon a cushion of liquid in the lower end of said cylinder below said nipple, after forcing all of the liquid above said liquid cushion out of the cylinder through said nipple, hose 44 and pipe 45. Slips are then inserted in the rotarytable to hold the drill string, and the cylinder 1 is lowered by the draw works until the piston 8 again reaches its uppermost position in the cylinder, while the valve 48 is opened to permit fluid to flll the cylinder below the piston.

The valve 48 is then closed, the slips removed from.

the rotary table, and the bleed valve 5| opened, and the drill string lowered further. the length of the stroke of the piston in. the cylinder. The.

above-described operations of the cylinder and piston for lowering the drill string for drilling are repeated. When the drill bit has drilled the well hole to such depth that the upper end of the kelly descends to the turntable 84, the cylinder 1,

der I, kelly 83 and the drill string are lowered I by bleed valve 5I until the lower end of the kelly enters the turntable 84, whereupon the above described operations are repeated until the well is drilled to the proper depth. I Y

Lin the form of my invention shown in Fig. 5, the guide I8 is eliminated,'a piston 86 is substituted for the piston 8' and an end thrust roller bearing 81 is mounted in the upper end of said piston for sustaining the load oi the drill string on said piston through a piston rod 88,'which extends through said piston, there being a nut 88 onthe upper end of said piston rod engaging said end thrust bearing. The piston rod 88 is journaled in roller bearings 88 and SI in the piston 86, so that said rod may rotate in said piston- A packing box 82, containing a packing 82', is provided in the lower portion of the piston for pack ing the piston rod 88, and sealing the lower end of the roller bearing 8|. A packing box 83 is provided in the lower end of the cylinder 1 through which the rod 88 rotatably extends.

In Fig. 6 the mud joint 53 has been disconnected from the lower end of the piston rod 8 and a snubbing hook 84 is screw seated on the pin 88 on the lower end of said rod for engaging a ,snubbing cable 85, which cable extends over the conventional sheaves (not shown) on the derrick floor or rotary table and is connected to the con- ,leading from said pump and connected to pipe 45 between the cylinder 1 and valve 48, and a valve I82 in said pipe, are provided for lifting. the drill string hydraulically, which might be desirable at times. By closing the valve 48 and opening the valve I82, the pump I88 may be operated to pump fluid through pipes I 8I and 45, and hose into the cylinder I to raise the piston 8 and the drill string.

In Fig. 9, I have illustrated a modified form of suspension means for my swivel and feed, which comprises an external shoulder II8 on the cylinder head I2, and a collar I I I surrounding the cylinder I and engaging said shoulder, said collar 'ventional snubbing bar (not shown) on the upper being formed with trunnions II2 received within the bearings I4 of the ball 2'. I

I do not limit my invention to the exact construction herein disclosed, because various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

.1. In a rotary well-drilling apparatus, a cylinder suspended from thetraveling block of said apparatus, a piston rotatably mounted in said cylinder. a guide mounted in said cylinder, a

piston rod extending through said piston and said guide, and secured in said piston, a roller bearing in said guide in which said rod is journaled, said piston rod extending through one end of said cylder below said piston or allowing said fluid to escape from said cylinder, and means for connecting the drill string to said piston rod.

2. In a rotary well-drillingapparatus, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder resting upon a body of liquid therein, a sliding guide fltted in said cylinder above said piston, a piston rod extending through said piston and said guide, said rod being keyed to said piston, bearings in said guide in to inder, means for introducing fluid into said cylinwhich said rod is journaled, means for hydraulically sealing said rod and said bearings within said sliding guide, said piston rod extendingthrough the lower end of said cylinder, and

emawm means for connecting the Emma" and of amid md to a drill string.

3. In a rotarywell-ng apparatus, a cylinder suspended from the travelling black m? said 5 apparatus, means for cmoimg said cylinder, a miston rotatably mounted m said ander, a guide fitted in said cylinfler mauve pfismn, a gamma extenmg v -r said piston and said guide and-sec w 1 d1 pikston, and a mller bearing in said gufide mm said pismn red is jourmled, said piston extending thmugh one end m2 cylinder. 

